Geissorhiza aspera

The abundance of bright star-like spring flowers of the blue sequin, in Afrikaans sysie (sysie, an untranslatable flower and bird name) or blousysie (blue sysie), as Geissorhiza aspera is commonly known, is a joy to all where it blooms in nature.

This cormous perennial becomes from 10 cm to 30 cm tall. It forms part of the Iridaceae family bearing erect and narrow, sword-shaped leaves. Above-ground parts are annually replaced with the arrival of winter rain. The corm is asymmetrical, a feature shared with all the many species of the subfamily of Iridaceae called Crocoideae. The flower may be blue or violet, occasionally pink or white, with a short tube and characteristic brown-tipped bracts.

Pollination is done by a variety of insects, particularly monkey beetles. By October the flowering is done and the seed formed.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from the Cape Peninsula coastally eastwards to around the Tradouw Pass and the west of the Little Karoo, northwards to the Gifberg and into the southwest of the Northern Cape.

The habitat is lower fynbos and renosterveld slopes and flats where the soils are granitic, sandy or clayey. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Manning, 2009; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).